Shizen Whispers - Joey Celentano

This gallery represents the beauty of nature in Japan. The works range from foliage to animal paintings and drawings in their natural environment. Vibrant colors, soft textures and delicate lines make up some of the artwork featured here.

This painting shows Japanese White-Eye birds sitting on the branches of Plum Blossoms. It is a great piece for my gallery and represents my theme because a lot of Japanese art was done on hanging scrolls with ink and shows emphasis where needed in the lines. I also like how the artist shows a soft texture in the birds, making them look almost fuzzy. The use of blue and white give the plum tree an early spring, frosted look.

This painting, done on a hanging scroll, shows a quail sitting beneath the branches of an oak tree. The texture and color of the leaves really stands out to me and the painting seems well balanced. Though not as prominent as the painting before, the artist shows emphasis with the lines, more so in the middle of the piece where as the lines towards the outside seem a little thinner. The emphasis in the lines gives weight to the branches.

This hanging scroll painting depicts a monkey and it's baby resting on pine branches. The texture of the monkey's fur and the detailed lines in the face give it an extremely soft and realistic look. I also like the way the artist emphasizes some of the pine needles compared to others. This painting has good spacing and balance as well.

This painting, done on scroll, shows hundreds of flowers that bloom over the seasons in Japan. The colors and shapes in this piece are very intricate and stand out to me. There is a lot of variety between the the colors and shapes of the flowers and some of the petals have a soft texture, adding realism. The movement in this piece takes the viewer through the four seasons, showing the variety in flowers, colors and shapes throughout.

This painting is one of four in a series of the seasons. It shows a wintery scene with birds perched on a snow covered cherry blossom while ducks swim in the cold river below. The medium for this piece is color on silk, typical of Japanese art. The lines show emphasis in the thickness of the branches where need be. The birds have a soft texture along with the budding flowers on the tree. There is also a lot of variety here with colors and textures, especially in the ducks.

This painting depicts a big dramatic wave crashing down on a nearby boat with Mt. Fuji in the background. The medium for this piece is woodblock print with ink and color on paper, another Japanese art standard. The lines in this piece perfectly represent the ferocity of the wave. The curved lines along the top of the wave look like claws, adding to the intensity. I like the small, random white shapes near the waves that give off the feel of mist.

This painting shows an overhead view of Mt. Fuji and the surrounding area while birds fly across. There is a lot variety in color and texture in this piece. The focal point, Mt. Fuji, stands out with it's bold color and vertical lines to show a rough mountainous surface. Surrounding the mountain are hills, bodies of water, and flower fields, all with their own variety in color and lines used. The birds flying by give the painting a sense of movement and rhythm as well.

This painting shows one of the four seasons of the sea, Summer. It depicts waves crashing into rocks under the moonlight while a bird flies by in the distance. The ocean waves are drawn with various lines until they crash against the rocks, showing different shapes to represent the mist and erratic behavior of the water. The rocks in which the waves are crashing into have a harder, rough texture than that of the soft water. Night is established with a bright moon and the dark tones of the sky. I feel like this painting has a good balance and is relaxing.

This painting on silk shows flowers blossoming while a bird sits perched on a piece of stray bamboo. The lines in the leaves and stems are delicate and have a soft texture to them. The colors are also perfect for this piece and not too intense for the scene. The bird once again has a very soft and fuzzy texture.

This piece shows a white fox sitting under moonflowers on a warm summer night. The air seems hazy like after a rainfall, due to the glow of certain objects and colors. I like the contrast between the colors of the flowers and leaves. It shows the moonlight reflecting off of the flowers but not the leaves, leaving them in darkness. The bright white glow also gives the flowers a soft texture. The fox also has a bright white glow and looks relaxed as it rests in the moonlight. The lines that make up the fox are very delicate and emphasized along the face and appendages.

Credits: All media

This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.